The present invention relates generally to portable secretaries and more particularly to a work surface which attaches to a luggage carrier, enabling a traveler to establish a portable office while waiting in airport terminals and the like. Several contemporaneous trends are pointing to the need for mobile amenities usually relegated to established or stationary office environments. An increasing number of business people rely on travel in their jobs because of air travel and enhanced airport security. Such individuals often find themselves spending a considerable amount of time in public places waiting for departures or arrivals. Concurrently, computing machinery has become increasingly portable with notebook computers and laptops equipped with sufficient hard disk and CD-ROM storage to carry sophisticated application programs and enormous files with work related information. Indeed, terms such as xe2x80x9cmobile computingxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cnomadic computingxe2x80x9d are becoming more prevalent.
Additionally, for the sake of convenience, an increasing number of air travelers are resorting to carry-on luggage, as opposed to checked luggage, to avoid loss in transit and circumvent delays associated with baggage claim. Due to the increase in carry-on luggage, more individuals are using rolling carts and other structural mechanisms to assist in transferring bags from one place to the next, removing the need to lift and carry these cumbersome items. As a result, it is common to see frequent fliers with xe2x80x9croll-a-boardxe2x80x9d type luggage carriers and other transport systems having wheels and extensible arms equipped with handles.
This invention addresses such trends by providing a portable work surface that may be secured to all types of luggage carriers. Such a work surface provided by the invention is not only preferably universal in its coupling to existing luggage carriers, but is substantial and stable enough to support two 8xc2xdxc3x9711 documents side-by-side or a laptop computer. In alternate embodiments of the present invention, the work surface will provide additional space for other devices such as a mouse or a notepad.
In a first preferred embodiment, the work surface attaches to the vertical extensible handle support members common to a wide variety of wheeled luggage carriers by grasping or frictionally engaging the outer surfaces of the handle support members without penetrating the volume defined by the handle assembly proper. As such, the invention may be universally applied to existing handle structures, whether formed of a single or a plurality of extensible handle support members. In this first embodiment of the present invention, the rear portion of the work surface includes a pair of rotating cams and a pair of uprights covered with a resilient frictional compressible material. The extensible handle support member(s) of a piece of luggage is placed between the cams and the uprights of the present invention. The work surface is frictionally secured onto the extensible handle support member(s) by rotating the cams until they pinch or constrain the handle support member(s) against the uprights. The height of the work surface may be varied depending on whether the user is in a seated or standing position. The front of the work surface is supported by a collapsible rod assembly which varies in length according to the position of the work surface. The rod assembly in conjunction with the engaged cams and uprights creates a stable tripod arrangement to support the work surface. The rod assembly is positioned between the legs of a user so that in a seated position, the legs of the user will fit underneath the work surface allowing easy access to the work surface.
In a second embodiment of the present invention, the rearward portion of the work surface includes a pair of diagonally offset horizontal bars covered with a resilient frictional compressible material. The horizontal bars are placed on either side of the extensible handle support member(s) and the work surface is frictionally secured onto the extensible arm support member(s) by placing a slight downward pressure on the work surface. Such pressure is preferably applied in this embodiment through a strap or a leg, both such techniques being further defined below. The choice between using a strap or leg is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the depth of the base of the wheeled luggage unit itself and the dimensions of the chosen work surface. In alternate embodiments, positive clamping mechanisms may be used to grasp the luggage carrier extensible handle support member(s) on both sides, between front and back, or any combination thereof.
In another embodiment, the portable work station is again adapted to be attached to a freestanding, upright support member and a contact surface. The work station has a work surface and a clamp device attached to the work surface. The clamp device frictionally engages the freestanding upright support member between the work surface and the clamp device. Additionally, the work surface may have a rod assembly pivotably attached to it or, further additionally, a foldable storage pouch attached to it.